mtl008 Chapter 334 You've come to the right person.
Chapter 334 You've come to the right person.
The morning sunlight streamed into the room through the window. Li Xiangyang rubbed his eyes, glanced at Li Xiaoyun who was still fast asleep beside him, carefully got up, and quietly put on his clothes.
He went out into the courtyard, took a deep breath of the morning air, and began to do some simple morning exercises.
The fatigue from last night is still lingering in my muscles, but my spirits have mostly recovered.
"Up so early?" Li Xiaoyun rubbed her eyes, leaned against the door frame, and looked at her husband in the yard.
Li Xiangyang turned around and smiled: "We're taking some men to hunt wild boar today, so we want to leave early. Why don't you sleep a little longer? It's still early."
Li Xiaoyun shook her head: "I'll make you breakfast." With that, she turned and went into the kitchen.
After breakfast, Li Xiangyang and Li Xiaoyun tidied up quickly and prepared to go out.
"I'll go to the production team to find some people. You stay home and rest well," Li Xiangyang instructed.
Li Xiaoyun nodded: "I'm fine, be careful on the road."
Li Xiangyang arrived at the production team headquarters, where team leader Zheng Dehou was arranging the autumn harvest tasks.
Upon seeing Li Xiangyang arrive, he quickly went to greet him.
Li Xiangyang briefly explained his purpose, and Zheng Dehou immediately agreed, "Alright, I'll arrange a few strong laborers for you." He turned to the villagers beside him, "Zhang Dazhu, Wang Tiezhu, and Li Dazhuang, get on the cart and go with Xiangyang up the mountain to hunt."
Soon, several strong villagers gathered together. Wang Ergou had also arrived. Seeing that everyone was ready, he called out, "Let's go, let's set off early and try to be back before noon."
The group set off up the mountain in a grand procession.
Along the way, the villagers chattered about their experiences in the mountains and their hunting adventures.
"Xiangyang, I heard you hunted two wild boars? How big were they?" Zhang Dazhu asked curiously.
Li Xiangyang laughed and said, "A boar and a sow together weigh over four hundred jin."
"Wow, it's so big!" Everyone exclaimed in amazement.
After walking for about two hours, we finally arrived at the hunting grounds from yesterday.
The two wild boars were still hanging in the tree; their enormous size amazed everyone.
"Good heavens, it's really big!" Wang Tiezhu circled the wild boar, marveling at it.
Li Xiangyang and Wang Ergou directed the men to take the wild boar down from the tree, tie it with rope, and load it onto the cart.
When the group carried the wild boar back to the village, the villagers gathered around, their faces beaming with joy.
"Wow, this wild boar is huge!"
"Xiangyang is really capable!"
Zheng Dehou stood at the village entrance, and seeing the game being carried back, his face lit up with a smile: "Good, good! Today the whole village can have a better meal!"
The prey was carried to the production team's courtyard, where Zheng Dehou organized several women to begin butchering the meat.
Li Xiangyang and Wang Ergou each took their share, while the rest were fairly distributed by Zheng Dehou.
Every household was able to receive a small piece of wild boar meat, which was undoubtedly a great comfort during a difficult period of reduced grain production.
"Xiangyang, thank you so much! If it weren't for your help, this winter would have been tough!" An elderly woman said gratefully as she took the meat.
"Yes, it's all thanks to Xiangyang, otherwise how would we have survived the winter?" another villager chimed in.
Li Xiangyang waved his hand: "Don't say that. We're all from the same village, isn't it only natural to help each other out?"
Just as the villagers were happily leading their meat home, a rapid bicycle bell rang in the distance.
Yang Youcai was seen riding his bicycle erratically, nearly hitting someone.
After parking the car, he ran and stumbled to Li Xiangyang's side, not even bothering to wipe the sweat from his face, and grabbed Li Xiangyang's arm. "Xiangyang, something terrible has happened! You have to help me this time!"
"Uncle Yang, don't rush." Li Xiangyang frowned slightly. "Take a breath and tell me in detail."
Yang Youcai took a deep breath: "Damn it, I don't know what sins we committed, but the village suddenly has a rat infestation, and the medicine isn't working. What's even stranger is that many people have seen a huge red-haired rat, bigger than a cat!"
"Really? Are you sure you're not just nervous and mistaking it? Maybe it's a weasel?"
Upon hearing this unusual story, Li Xiangyang asked curiously.
"No way! Do you think I don't know a weasel? That guy only steals chickens, he doesn't eat grain. Besides, he can't command a swarm of mice. I saw it with my own eyes, under that red-haired mouse's command, the mice were rushing into the grain bins in droves, like they'd gone mad. If we don't find a way, everyone will go hungry this winter!"
Yang Youcai's voice changed from anxiety, and he gripped Li Xiangyang's arm tightly with both hands, his fingers turning white from the force.
Seeing his certainty, Li Xiangyang had no choice but to believe him for a moment.
It's understandable that older mice grow larger, but it's rather strange that a mouse is bigger than a cat and has completely red fur.
At this moment, the villagers standing nearby were stunned, and some of them began to discuss among themselves.
"Could it be that it has come to life?"
"I've heard the older generation say that the birth of a gray fairy is not a good omen!"
"Did the village break some taboo?"
Seeing that the villagers were becoming increasingly tense, Li Xiangyang patted Yang Youcai on the shoulder and said in a deep voice, "Uncle Yang, I'll go with you and see what's going on."
Wang Ergou chimed in, "I'll go too!"
"Xiangyang, I want to go and see too!" Zhang Weiping from the hunting team shouted.
The other members of the hunting teams also expressed their willingness to go.
Li Xiangyang glanced at the team members' eager expressions and nodded, "Alright, let's go to Heping Village together. But we need to prepare first. Everyone go back and pack your things, and we'll meet at the village entrance in half an hour."
The crowd dispersed, each heading home to prepare their gear.
Li Xiangyang hurried home. Seeing his rushed appearance, Li Xiaoyun stopped what she was doing and asked, "What's wrong? You just got back and you're going out again?"
“Something happened in Heping Village, and Yang Youcai came to ask us to come and take a look,” Li Xiangyang explained as he walked into the house. “He said it’s a rat infestation, but not just any rat; they’re all red and bigger than cats.”
Upon hearing this, Li Xiaoyun was stunned for a moment: "A red-haired rat? How is that possible?"
“I also found it strange, so I wanted to go and see,” Li Xiangyang said, slinging his gun over his shoulder.
Li Xiaoyun hesitated for a moment, then asked softly, "If this is true..."
“Don’t worry, I’ve seen plenty of strange things, none of them are real,” Li Xiangyang said gently, understanding his wife’s concerns. “But it really can’t be left unresolved. Many areas in our region have already suffered from floods this year; if we get a rat infestation, people might starve to death this winter!”
Li Xiaoyun nodded and went inside to help her husband pack his things: "Then I'll prepare some dry food for you, just in case you can't come back tonight, so you'll have something to eat."
Li Xiangyang smiled and said, "Don't bother. It shouldn't take too long; I'll be back by tomorrow at the latest."
Li Xiaoyun verbally agreed, but her hands didn't stop moving. She quickly prepared a small bundle containing a few boiled eggs and some pancakes: "Take this with you, just in case."
Seeing the worry in his wife's eyes, Li Xiangyang took the bundle from her and comforted her, "Don't worry. Even if that red-haired rat really is a spirit, we still have our black cat to ward off evil spirits."
"There's a saying that goes, 'No matter how powerful Sun Wukong is, he can't escape the palm of the Buddha.'"
"Even if this red-haired rat were truly a spirit, it's nothing more than a small fry in front of our guardian black cat. From any perspective, Uncle Yang made the right choice in coming to me this time."